The number of new projects started for the App Store nearly tripled in January, as the month was dominated by hype for and the announcement of Apple's iPad.

Flurry Analytics on Friday released its latest edition of the "Smartphone Industry Pulse" for January 2010. The mobile analysis firm, which has tracking data in over 20,000 mobile applications, said developers integrating Flurry analytics into iPhone OS applications in January increased nearly three times over December's total.

More than 1,600 new applications for Flurry started in January, when less than 600 at the beginning of December 2010 represents the largest increase in history, the analysis starts the company's follow-up.

"Thus, we hypothesize that the excitement generated by Apple's iPad event in January to guide the growth,"the company said."For developers who are customizing their applications to skip the iPad, may have the opportunity to stand out early on, and make more money on downloads."

Apple revealed the iPad the event that there is over 140.000 applications available on the mobile App Store. That the software is compatible with the iPad when it first appeared in the end of March.

But developers can also create a new iPad specific applications that take advantage of multi-touch device and its 9.7-inch display

 

 

( Read more )

General users can now download the beta version of Google Chrome for Mac, as the web browser has finally been made available Tuesday.

Chrome for Mac has been a long time to come, more than a year after its Windows counterpart first debuted in beta. Although it was initially planned to allocate in first half of 2009, the product has hit numerous delays.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has admitted this year that Chrome's absence on the Mac platform has been embarrassment for his company. The company has worked to ensure that the beta version of the browser may get a period at the end of 2009.

Download available from Google, is 17.6MB. Requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later, and only runs on Intel processors.

We've been working hard to deliver a first-class browser for the Mac

Google has opened up public access to the new Domain Name System (DNS) service that allows users to make Internet hosts quickly, accurately and safely.

The new service allows users to bypass your own Internet service provider's DNS to use Google's performance-optimized servers, name lookup. Internet users continued access to the DNS in the background every time you enter a URL in your browser, click the hyperlink, email, or perform any other task to resolve IP address of host names.

User's currently assigned DNS server may be overloaded, slow, or even maliciously poisoned provide bad information. This means that Google's new services so the potential to improve the efficiency and safety.

Users can search by entering a new Google's difficult to remember DNS IP addresses (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) to replace their existing DNS settings, either individually on each computer used by, or central to your AirPort base station or other router, which will then have access to Google's DNS to perform all network query host name.

No redirection, blocking or filtering

Other free DNS services are already available, but most cover their costs by shifting is not a query (for mistyped or incorrect URLs) for ad-supported sites that propose alternatives. Until now, Google in March't perform any conversion of such business. Instead, the company providing the service for free as a way to collect information on how Internet users in anonymous and aggregate level.

In its Google Public DNS information page, the company stated,"Sometimes, in the case of queries for mistyped or non-existent domain name, right [DNS] response means that there is no reply or an error message stating the domain name could not be resolved. Public Google DNS never blocks, filters or conversion of users, unlike some open resolvers and ISPs."

Google also provides detailed instructions on how to use their new service, including free telephone support. It also explains performance advantages in security benefits their new services.

Google's network of savvy and ability to handle huge amounts of public requirements would be uniquely placed to offer this service free of charge to the public. The company itself describes the services offered to quickly caught, as every typical user loads a Web page in the browser include several or even many DNS queries, each of which can stall the progress of loading pages, if it can not be resolved quickly.

[via Apple Insider]

After examining the configuration files included in the latest build of OS X, sources at Spanish-language site Applesana.es have found references to two new MacBook Pro models.

The 10C531 build of the 10.6.2 update contained the configuration files in question. The models referenced are the MacBook Pro 6.1 and the MacBook Pro 6.1b. The current crop of MacBook Pros have a 5.(x) designation, spanning 5.1 through 5.5.

The MacBook Pro line was not updated during the latest Apple refresh, during which Apple introduced Intel's Core i5 and i7 processors to the newly redesigned iMac line.

According to the source, all indications point to two new MacBook Pros with Quad Core Mobile processors and ATI series 4500 GPUs.

The MacBook Pro line was last updated at the beginning of June at the Worldwide Developers Conference where Apple announced 17, 15, and 13 inch versions of the Pro. These models all featured Intel Core 2 Duo processors and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and 9600M GT GPUs.

( Read more )

Amazon Kindle customers will have the ability to read their content on the Mac when the official application is launched in the future; and Google Chrome inches closer to release with its developer preview.

Kindle reader coming to Mac

Amazon announced alongside the launch of Windows 7 Thursday that it would bring a desktop reader client to PCs. A company spokesperson later confirmed to Fast Company that the book seller also intends to release software for Mac OS X in the future.

As the Kindle platform has matured, Amazon has worked to take it beyond its e-reader hardware and onto other devices. In March, the company debuted its Kindle reader on the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch. The software allows readers to access their content and sync what page they were last on to a number of devices.

Apple and Amazon could soon compete in the e-reader market, as rumors have suggested for months that the Cupertino, Calif., company's long-rumored tablet device will, in part, function as a portable device designed to transform newspapers, magazines and other print media into digital content. The tablet is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2010.

Google Chrome adds QuickTime, printing

The latest release of Google Chrome for Mac this week is another milestone in the Web browser's long path to Mac OS X: the official developer preview. On the official blog, the development team announced that QuickTime and printing have made their initial appearance in the browser.

As first reported by ArsTechnica, the latest build is the first time the Mac OS X browser has been available for public download outside of nightly development builds. The report noted that the browser seems stable enough for daily use.

The Chrome is expected to come to the Mac with version 4

( Read more )

While Appleinsider predicted the arrival of a new dual-drive, optical-free Mac mini, Apple managed keep secret its plans to introduce a new Mac mini server bundle up to its relatively subtle launch this week. Now the company faces the task of publicizing its availability as it works to enter a market it hasn't excelled at in the past.

The new Mac mini server offering isn't just optimized to run Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, but now actually comes bundled with Apple's server operating system software. Previously, home and small business users who wanted to try Snow Leopard Server needed to shell out $500 for the retail box version or opt for an Xserve bundle, which starts at $3000 and requires either a server rack or a sizably awkward 17"x30" of free space.

Prior to Snow Leopard, the unlimited user version of Mac OS X Server cost $999; that's what the unlimited user version now costs with the Mac mini server thrown in for free. The server version of the new Mac mini drops the optical drive to make room for two 500GB, 5400 RPM 2.5" (laptop style) SATA hard drives. It also supplies a capable 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 4GB of fast 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM (expandable to 8GB). This is all fit into the same 6.5" square, 2" high Mac mini enclosure, which weighs in at just 2.9 pounds.

Compared to the conventional, high end model of the revamped Mac mini lineup, you get three times the disk storage (without a built-in optical drive) for just $200 more. So essentially, Apple is now giving away Snow Leopard Server in the Mac mini server bundle just as the company always has on the Xserve. For the first time ever, this provides Apple with an entry-level server to position at the home server niche and relatively sizable small business market.

Mac vs generic PC in the mini server category

Compared to other small form factor PC servers, the Mac mini server supplies a far more powerful processor than the low-powered Atom or Celeron found in many mini computers such as the $350 Asus Eee Box (which is not sold as a server nor really designed to perform like one)

( Read more )

Apple's efforts to support the development of ZFS, an advanced file system originally created by Sun, were officially terminated today in a notice posted by MacOS Forge.

The tersely worded message only stated that "The ZFS project has been discontinued. The mailing list and repository will also be removed shortly."

Mac OS Forge describes itself as "dedicated to supporting the developer community surrounding open source components specific to Mac OS X." It publishes source code and an information repository about a variety of open projects Apple funds and maintains, including:



( Read more )

A giant iPod touch billboard in Boston deemed illegal due to its size and location is at the center of a political controversy involving the city's mayor.

Despite the fact that a 13,750-square-foot iPod touch banner on the side of a Boston self-storage building was declared illegal by the Massachusetts Outdoor Advertising Board, the massive advertisement has remained since the fall of 2007 with and without special permits. According to The Boston Globe, the companies behind the billboard agreed to pay the state $110,000 for a settlement in June -- the largest known payment for any such advertising dispute.

The report suggested that the deal was reached with some assistance: A top campaign aide to Mayor Thomas M. Menino admitted to helping a business acquaintance behind the advertising agreement work his way through the permitting process. That acquaintance has also donated the maximum-allowed political campaign contribution of $500 to Menino every year since 2005.

The report said the mayor eventually endorsed the giant outdoor billboard, despite what the Globe called his administration's "usual discouragement of new billboards."

The one-year temporary permit for the iPod ad expired last fall, but the partners behind it did not file for a new permit until June, when the $110,000 settlement with the state was reached.

"The Outdoor Advertising Board has argued since 2007 that the ad

( Read more )

A new book available for preorder on Amazon.com implies that a new 3.0 version of Aperture, called Apple Aperture X, could be coming by May 2010.

The book is listed as "Apple Aperture X (3) - UNDER NDA: A Workflow Guide for Digital Photographers," and the 320-page paperback from Focal Press has a release date of May 26, 2010, perhaps suggesting a timeframe for the forthcoming software's release.

The forthcoming book's ISBN number is 978-0240521787. According to isbn.nu, it is not available for preorder anywhere other than Amazon, where the title implies it remains under a non-disclosure agreement, suggesting its posting was a mistake.

The product description states that the guide is "fully updated for Aperture X." It offers no details on the future software.

"Aperture is a dedicated end-to-end workflow tool for photographers, and this book guides the reader through the complete process from capture to input," the listing reads. "The beauty of Aperture is that -- unlike Adobe's rival workflow software, Lightroom -- it doesn't force a particular structure or workflow on the user. This more open-ended approach means it is becoming increasingly popular with photographers -- but also means that there is a lot to learn fro a newcomer to the software."

The authors are listed as Ken McMahon and Nik Rawlinson, who also co-wrote "Apple Aperture 2: A workflow guide for digital photographers," released in 2008. McMahon has also authored books on Paint Shop Pro and InDesign, while Rawlinson has written the 2009 edition of "The Ultimate iPod Guide."



Aperture hasn't seen a major reference release since 2.0 shipped in February 2008, when Apple reduced the original $499 price tag to $199 in order to spur sales after two years of mixed reviews.

Since 2.0, the company has issued a half-dozen minor updates at regular intervals, each primarily addressing performance and stability issues

( Read more )

Mac cloner and enduring litigant Psystar has rolled out a new $50 application that will allow certain Intel-powered PCs to run Mac OS X.

The Florida-based company announced Thursday that any PC with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, i7 or Xeon Nehalem processor installed can take advantage of its Rebel EFI software hack to run Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

The "Rebel" hack is likely to get the company in even more hot water as an ongoing legal battle with Apple continues over Psystar's unauthorized computers that ship with Mac OS X preinstalled. Psystar and Apple have been embroiled in a legal controversy over Mac OS X usage since July 2008.

Thursday's announcement signals another frontier for the bold company beyond selling Mac-booting hardware. Psystar's website includes 38 steps of instructions for installing Mac OS X with its new Rebel EFI tool, with one part of the process that takes 13 separate steps to complete.

"Featuring Psystar's newest technology for allowing for the smooth interfacing between operating systems and generic Intel hardware," the product description reads, "Rebel EFI allows for the easy installation of multiple operating systems on a single system."

The software is priced at $89.99 at The Psystar Store, but is currently listed with a "special" $40 discount. The company offers it free to try, but with limited hardware functionality and a two-hour runtime. Rebel EFI also runs a hardware scan (seen below).



"The authenticated version allows for the permanent installtion [sic] of these OS's on your system, as well as providing the [Darwin Universal Boot Loader], supported hardware profile features and related drivers, and support for the application," Psystar's site states.

Earlier this month, Apple and Psystar both requested summary judgment in an attempt to head off a January trial

( Read more )